1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates to document scanning apparatuses that scan documents and acquire images, such as copying machines, scanners or facsimile machines.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, document scanning apparatuses such as copying machines, facsimile machines, scanners or digital multifunction peripherals are widely used to scan documents with an optical unit having a Charge Coupled Devices (CCD) image sensor and to carry out various processing on acquired images. For example, a copying machine prints a scanned document on printing paper, a facsimile machine transmits a scanned document to other machines, and a scanner stores a scanned document in a storage device. A digital multifunction peripheral (MFP) has the functions of all of these machines.
An Automatic Document Feed (ADF) may be mounted on the document scanning apparatus. The user can cause the apparatus to scan a plurality of documents with a single operation using the ADF. Functions included in the document scanning function increase every year. For example, copying machines have various functions such as an aggregating function for copying a plurality of pages of documents onto a piece of printing paper, a duplex copying function for copying a document on both sides of a printing paper, compression and expansion functions for copying a document in a compressed or expanded scale, and so on. With these functions, the user is able to make copies in various modes such as scanning a number of documents at once and aggregating the scanned pages in duplex copies.
However, unlike Personal Computers (PCs), advanced input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse are typically not provided in the document scanning apparatus. Therefore, a process to be carried out on an image acquired by scanning a document is selected from menu items displayed on a liquid crystal display unit through a small number of buttons, a touch panel or the like. For example, when copying a plurality of documents in an aggregated manner, the user selects aggregated printing from the menu, sets the documents on the ADF, and operates a start button to start copying. The copying machine scans the documents, aggregates the acquired images according to the setting of the aggregated printing, and prints out the images on the printing paper. Then, the user confirms that the process is finished by referring to the printed documents outputted from the machine. However, when the process is not satisfactorily carried out, the same sequence must be repeated, causing problems of wasted time and wasted resources such as printing papers. In this manner, the user is obliged to use various functions with the input device having low operability such as the small number of buttons or the touch panel, and hence erroneous operations may increase with the increase of the functions of the document scanning apparatus, whereby these problems might become more striking.
JP-A-2003-244372 proposes an image forming apparatus that reduces the probability of miscopying by providing a function to display in preview mode an output layout of the plurality of documents or the duplex copying mode or the like before output. A preview processing unit edits an image acquired by scanning a document or an image stored in a memory unit and displays the image on a monitor. For example, a layout of the duplex copy or a layout of the image formed on the front and back surfaces of a recording medium or the like is displayed.
JP-A-2006-254106 proposes a copy control apparatus that provides a copy with desired finish even when an area that cannot be reproduced by a printing device is included in an image to be copied. This copy control apparatus transfers an image data for simulation, which is obtained by reducing the resolution of an image data to be printed acquired by scanning an original to be copied, to a client PC, and displays the simulation image on the client PC. The copy control apparatus then determines the presence or absence of an irreproducible area having a color difference exceeding a threshold value from the original image based on the image data for simulation, and expressly presents it on the simulation image. When the user expresses an intention to change the printing conditions, the simulation image is displayed again under the changed printing conditions. When the user specifies the printing conditions to be fixed, the copy control apparatus transmits the fixed printing conditions to the MFP, so that the MFP carries out printing on the printing paper under the fixed printing conditions.
In the image forming apparatus of JP-A-2003-244372, since the user is able to confirm by displayed preview image the output result before printing on the printing paper, waste of resources such as printing paper due to miscopying can be reduced. However, since there is no specific considerations and improvement in the operating method and operating sequence and the like, the user is obliged to change the selection or setting of the function or to try the operation again through a complicated operation when the output result displayed as a preview is not satisfactory. In particular, when a plurality of the functions are used, for example, when aggregating the documents for printing on both sides of the printing paper, it is difficult to determine which function is to be reset even when the output result displayed as a preview is not satisfactory. Therefore, the problem of increased working time of the user is not solved fundamentally.
The copy control apparatus of JP-A-2006-254106 transmits image data for simulation to a client PC so that the user can display the simulation image and change the printing conditions. Therefore, a complicated operation can be achieved using the keyboard and mouse of the client PC. However, a client PC is required in addition to the printing apparatus, and hence costs are increased. A digital MFP in recent years typically has a function to connect to a network. However, there is a problem that the user must move between the digital MFP and the client PC when the digital MFP and the client PC that is connected to the network are not arranged in proximity, which is troublesome for the user.